Nerney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The many Irish surnames in use today have long rich histories behind them. The name Nerney originally appeared in Gaelic as Mac an Airchinnigh, which means son of the erenagh. The word erenagh refers to a steward of church lands. This was originally an ecclesiastical task, but was later performed by laymen, becoming a hereditary trade. 1

Early Origins of the Nerney family

The surname Nerney was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where the MacInerny variant prevails.

The McEneany variant is "the name of two septs. That Co. Roscommon is almost extinct; that of Oriel is numerous under many variants. A study of this name which appeared in the Clogher Record (1960) presents evidence (which I have verified elsewhere) to prove that its Irish form is not the generally accepted Mac Conaonaigh but Mac an Dhéaghanaigh, earlier Mac an Déaganaigh." 1

"MacAneany, also written MacEneany and sometimes MacNeany, was changed to Bird by some families in County Monaghan, Louth and Meath." 2

Early History of the Nerney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Nerney research. Another 214 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1365, 1393, 1398 and 1659 are included under the topic Early Nerney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Nerney Spelling Variations

Official documents, crafted by early scribes and church officials, primarily contained names that were spelled according to their pronunciation. This lead to the problem of one name being recorded under several different variations, creating an illusion that a single person was many people. Among the many spelling variations of the surname Nerney that are preserved in the archival documents of the time are MacInerny, MacInerney, Nerney, Kinnerk, Nerheny, Nertney, Nirney, McNertney, MacNertney, MacNerney and many more.

Early Notables of the Nerney family

More information is included under the topic Early Nerney Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Nerney family

Irish families began leaving their homeland for North America in the late 18th century. These families were usually modestly well off, but they were looking forward to owning and working on a sizable tract of land of their own. This pattern of emigration continued until the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine sparked a major exodus of destitute and desperate Irish people. These people were not leaving for a grant of land in North America because by this time the East Coast had reached its saturation point and free land was scarce. They were merely looking to escape the disease, starvation, and hopelessness that Ireland had fallen into. Although these unfortunate immigrants did not receive a warm welcome by the established populations in the United States and what would become Canada, they were absolutely critical to the rapid development that these two nations enjoyed. They would help populate the western lands and provide the cheap labor required for a rapid industrialization. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many early bearers of the name Nerney or one of its variants: Pat and Thomas McInerheny settled in Canada in 1847; Dennis, John, and Margaret McInerny arrived in Philadelphia in 1854; Denis, John, and Thomas McInnerney arrived in Philadelphia in 1866..

Contemporary Notables of the name Nerney (post 1700) +

May Childs Nerney (1877-1959), American civil rights activist and librarian, Secretary of the NAACP from 1912 to 1916, she later worked on cataloging Thomas Edison's papers and published a 1934 biography on him, Thomas A. Edison, A Modern Olympian
Patrick W. Nerney, American automotive executive, husband of famed actress Jane Powell and actress Mona Freeman
Sister Mary Nerney, American advocate on behalf of women in prison, inspiration for Sister Margaret and the Saturday Night Ladies, a CBS film starring Bonnie Franklin as Sister Margaret
Gloria P. Nerney, American Republican politician, Candidate for Rhode Island State House of Representatives 44th District, 2002 3
John Joe Nerney (1922-2015), Irish Gaelic footballer who played as a left corner-forward with the Roscommon senior team
DeClan Nerney (b. 1959), Irish singer of the Country and Irish genre, perhaps best known for his autobiographical song "The Marquee in Drumlish"

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, Supplement to Irish Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Book Company, 1964. Print.
MacLysaght, Edward, More Irish Families. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-0126-0)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 18) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html